Gosh. The national debate is almost as confusing as the Democratic Party's internal conflict. So here's some clarity, offered with no strings and at no cost.
Seriously, the nation has three basic issues.
One, was the Iraq war part of a counter-attack on the terrorists who perpetrated 9/11/01? Or was it a diversion from (even subversion of) that effort?
(Notice I do not refer to the "war on terrorism." That slogan, comparable to our ongoing "war on drugs," is not a policy – after all, neither "war" can ever be won. It serves only to rally the troops and make it easier to subsidize favored interests, the military-industrial complex in one case, police/prison industries/social worker complex in the other.)
Two, shall our nation be governed by and for corporate power or shall it retain some elements of democracy?
Three, shall fear propel the U.S. toward narrowing, even abolishing, rights incorporated in that part of the Constitution known as the Bill of Rights.
Clear?